


The Return

by SailorChibi



Series: Spiderling verse [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Play, Age Play Caregiver Tony Stark, Ageplay Caregiver Pepper Potts, Angst, Angst and Fluff, Angst with a Happy Ending, Baby Peter Parker, Carrying, Crying, Diapers, F/M, Infantilism, Little Headspace, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) knows, Not Wanda Friendly, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pepper Potts Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Peter Parker Angst, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker has Self-Esteem Issues, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Endgame, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Tony Stark, Stuffed Toys, Supportive May Parker (Spider-Man), Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark has PTSD, Tony stark need a hug, alternate universe - littles are known, bottles, caregiver tony stark, little peter parker, non sexual age play, non sexual infantilism, not wanda maximoff friendly, takes place post avengers endgame, thumb sucking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:28:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29071797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: How are you supposed to navigate your life after being gone for five years, especially when it seems that everyone has moved on? And in Peter's case, he didn't want to accept that Pepper and Tony had replaced him, but it seemed they had. Where does he belong?
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Spiderling verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1776004
Comments: 147
Kudos: 623





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As promised, I'm back and loaded up with angst.

At first it was exciting. There was really no time to stop and think about what had happened. Dr. Strange was there, yelling at Peter and the Guardians that Tony needed them, and all Peter had the time to do was get up and obey his instructions. Then they were on Earth, and there was Thanos to fight, and there was Iron Man putting on the glove with all the stones and snapping Thanos away.

And then, just like that… it’s over.

Peter stands on the porch and looks out at the lake, arms wrapped loosely around his stomach. It’s a quiet morning, and he can hear the birds singing in the trees. By all accounts, he can understand why Tony and Pepper chose to move out here. The location is remote, but not so cut off from the world that it feels like they’re miles away from civilization or anything like that. Tony’s got their land wired up – if Peter tilts his head just right, he can see the glint of cameras in the trees – so they get advance warning of anyone approaching the house. It makes sense.

But it’s weird. Peter bites his lower lip and inhales deeply, trying to fight back the tears. He’s been told that it was five years. _Five years_. Of course the world has moved on. It’s not like Tony and Pepper could freeze their lives at the moment Peter got dusted, and then only let things resume when Peter’s back – especially since they didn’t even know if Peter would _ever_ be back. 

Five years…

It’s just such a long time.

The door bangs behind Peter and he flinches a little, heart jumping in his chest. Someone steps out onto the porch behind him. He can tell from the weight of the footsteps that it’s either Tony or Pepper, and he’s irrationally glad that it’s not Morgan. Finding out that he has, for all intents and purposes, a little sister now is one of the things that’s throwing him for the biggest loop.

“Hey,” Pepper says, and then a moment later a blanket lands on Peter’s shoulders. She comes up beside him and pulls the blanket around him more securely, tucking it under his chin. It’s not until then that Peter realizes he is a little cold.

“Hi,” he says softly, not looking at her. Pepper’s aged well, and she’s always been a beautiful woman, but it’s still odd to see the new lines in her face and the hint of grey hair hidden among the strands of red. To Peter, she’s aged in the span of about five minutes.

“How are you doing?” she asks, her voice very gentle. “I noticed that you didn’t eat breakfast.”

“Wasn’t hungry,” Peter mutters, lowering his gaze to the ground. 

“I find that hard to believe. The Peter Parker I remember was always hungry.” She’s trying hard to sound teasing, but Peter picks up on the underlying tension in her voice. This is just as weird for them as it is for him, he realizes. It’s been five years for them too. They’ve built a life without him.

Do they even want him anymore?

The question settles into the pit of his belly like a cold, hard knot, making him feel nauseous. Before Thanos came, Pepper and Tony were planning their wedding. Tony was Peter’s official caregiver. After the wedding, Pepper was going to become his other official caregiver. Peter had been looking forward to it _so_ much. But now… they have a child together. Morgan. He tries hard not to think that he’s been replaced, but the insidious thought creeps in regardless.

“I know this is weird,” Pepper says, putting her hand on his shoulder. Peter looks up at her automatically. She has her long hair tied up in a messy bun. She’s wearing yoga pants and a tank top, like she’s about to go for a run. Maybe she is. He has the sudden feeling that by being here, he’s totally throwing their normal family routine out of whack.

“Weird is one word for it,” Peter says when it becomes obvious that she’s waiting for him to say something. He doesn’t know what else to say. He can’t come right out with it and admit that he’s scared they don’t want him anymore. He can’t say he’s worried he’s been replaced. He can’t tell her that he doesn’t feel like he fits anywhere anymore, because the whole world moved on without him.

Pepper sighs. “With time, it will be less weird,” she says confidently.

“How do you know?” Peter asks.

“Because we’ve lived through this before, when all of you disappeared.” Her hand tightens on his shoulder. “It was awful at first, but then each day we got a little more adjusted. It never got easier. Tony and I never stopped missing you and everyone else that we lost. But we found a way to cope with it, and the same thing will happen this time. We’ll all find a new normal together.”

Her words are clearly meant to be comforting, but all Peter can think about is the fact that he doesn’t want Pepper and Tony to have to _cope_ with his return. Coping with something isn’t a good thing. He wants them to have a space for him already, not for them to have to shift things around to make room for him. Because doesn’t that mean that they’re just putting up with him?

“Right,” he says, trying for a smile. “That makes sense.”

“It just takes time,” Pepper says. “Now, there’s breakfast inside on the table. You should go eat.”

“Okay,” Peter says. He misses the pressure when Pepper lets her hand fall away, and immediately wishes that she would put it back – or better yet, that she would give him a hug. He doesn’t have the courage to ask for one; he just wishes that she would somehow know and oblige.

But Pepper isn’t a mind reader, of course, and just gives him another smile before she walks down the stairs. Peter watches her break into a slow jog, heading in the direction of the lake. Only when she rounds the curve of the woods and is out of sight does he get up and head back into the house. As promised, breakfast is on the table – and a handful of Avengers are sitting around it.

“Hi Peter,” Clint Barton says with an awkward smile. He looks as out of place in the house as Peter feels. They –Maximoff, Barton, and Romanov – showed up last night to see Tony. Peter’s not sure why. Supposedly they’re not staying long, and Peter’s grateful for that. 

“Hi,” he says uncertainly.

“Sit down, Pete.” Tony breezes into the room, carrying Morgan on his hip. A twinge of jealousy hits hard, twisting Peter’s stomach. Tony has never been able to carry _him_ like that. Not with the damage that’s been done to Tony’s chest over the years. 

Morgan surveys the food on the table before announcing, “I want donuts.”

“Morgan, donuts aren’t a healthy breakfast food,” says Tony.

Romanov looks up. “Pepper went out for a run. She’s not here.”

“Oh, well, in that case –” With only a slight grimace, Tony shifts Morgan’s weight to free up an arm and opens the cupboard above the stove. He takes out two packs of donuts and Morgan cheers. 

“Do you seriously think that Pepper doesn’t know about those?” Romanov asks, looking somewhat amused.

“Shut up and let me dream,” Tony says, setting both the donuts and Morgan down. He pries open one of the packs and takes a donut out, pushing it into Morgan’s hand. She instantly stuffs her prize into her mouth and grins with bulging cheeks. Barton, Romanov, and Tony all look at her with the same expression: like she’s the most adorable thing to ever walk the earth.

Peter’s not jealous. He’s not. That’s what he tells himself as he sits down at the table. So do Morgan and Tony. Morgan finishes her donut and then has some cereal. Tony forgoes the donuts in favor of cereal. He and Morgan look a lot alike, Peter realizes. They have the same brown eyes and the same smirk. Even their mannerisms are the same. It’s like looking at a miniature, female copy of Tony. 

“You’re not eating anything?” Romanov says, looking at him with a piercing gaze.

“Uh, I’m not hungry,” Peter says quietly.

Tony’s mouth tugs down into a frown. “You should at least eat a banana, Pete.” He watches Peter with an unsettlingly worried gaze. At one point, Peter refusing food would have sent Tony into a tizzy. But now it’s like Tony’s not sure how to react, so he doesn’t do anything.

Barton puts a banana on Peter’s plate. To keep the peace, and hopefully keep all those eyes away from him, Peter unpeels it and takes a bite. The food is overwhelmingly flavorful, the texture at once familiar but strange, and Peter has to force himself to chew and swallow it. Hot tears build up behind his eyes. He doesn’t like bananas. Never has. But Tony didn’t remember that.

What does that mean?

“Daddy says you’re a spy,” Morgan says to Romanov as breakfast ends.

“I used to be,” Romanov says after a slight pause.

“Can you show me how to do spy things?” she asks.

“What? No!” Tony exclaims.

“Of course,” Romanov says, smiling serenely. “Come with me.” She gets up and holds her hand out to Morgan.

“Hello, father saying no here,” Tony says, pointing to himself. He’s promptly ignored, as Romanov leads Morgan out of the room. Barton snickers and Tony swears quietly, and the two of them simultaneously get up and follow after Romanov and Morgan.

“He’s replaced you, hasn’t he?”

The single bite of banana threatens to come back up. Peter turns to Maximoff without saying a word. She’s watching him with shadowed, dark eyes. Her hair hangs over her face. She’s the only person who doesn’t look any older. Not that Peter knew her well before everything happened, but he saw pictures of her, and she looks exactly the same down to the length of her hair. It’s like time froze for Maximoff alone.

“What?” Peter says, too late and too shrill, and she gives a slow smile.

“Well, I just thought that I would find it awfully hard in your shoes,” she says innocently, swirling the remains of her tea. “Being gone for so long and knowing that everyone has moved on without you… I mean, that’s got to be difficult to deal with. But then finding out that they’ve _replaced_ you with a younger model? Ouch.”

Peter wants to deny it, but he can’t make himself speak. His throat is too tight, and he has the awful feeling that if he tries to say anything, he’s going to burst into tears.

“Of course, it makes sense. Stark and Potts got to experiment with you a bit. Got it out of their systems.” She sits back and shrugs.

“What… what do you mean?” Peter whispers hoarsely, swallowing hard.

“Littles are a lot of work for no reward. At least little kids grow up. Littles keep their headspaces forever. And let’s be honest, Stark and Potts aren’t getting any younger. They probably don’t want to keep a Little around for their retirement years. Why else would they have a child together when they could’ve just gotten another Little?” She tilts her head, red hair swishing over one shoulder, and watches him with a piercing gaze.

“I…” Peter opens his mouth, then closes it and bites his lip. He doesn’t have an answer for that. Hearing her say these terrible things out loud, giving voice to the thoughts going through his head, is worse than he could have ever imagined.

“It must be hard, but I’m sure you’ll cope,” Maximoff says, getting up. “They don’t have anything set up for you, right? Maybe they’ll give you a room in the basement if they decide you can stick around this time. Good luck with that.” She laughs to herself and sails out of the room.

Peter watches her go in silence, shaken to his core. Maybe she’s right. Maybe being here is stupid. Pepper and Tony have a whole life set up for themselves. Peter’s just intruding on it at this point. They would all be better off if he just left them to it. He clenches his hands into such tight fists that his nails slice into his palms. Yes, that’s right. He should just go stay with Aunt May and leave the Stark family to it.

He just wishes that it didn’t hurt so much.


	2. Chapter 2

Peter jerks awake with the echoes of a scream in his ears, but he’s so disoriented he can’t even tell if it was real. So he lays there for a few extra seconds, heart thudding against his ribs so hard that it physically hurts, and waits to see if anyone comes. But as the minutes tick by, he gradually realizes that it was just his nightmare. Either that, or they heard him scream and don’t care enough to come.

The thought makes Peter flinch, a sob escaping before he can stop it. He _knows_ that’s not it. Pepper and Tony aren’t like that. But it’s harder to remember that with the remains of his nightmare swirling around in his brain, so fresh and painful. When he closes his eyes, he can still see the cold looks on Tony’s and Pepper’s faces when they tell him they don’t need him anymore because they have Morgan.

He can still hear the way their voices sound when they say they don’t love him.

Nausea churns in Peter’s gut, and he lurches out of the bed in a panic. Handily, the house is big enough that Peter gets his own bathroom. He stumbles inside and falls to his knees beside the toilet. He doesn’t throw up, but he does spend several long moments dry heaving. Long enough for him to realize, with a flash of shame, that he wet himself during his nightmare.

When the dry heaving stops, he stays there kneeling for a few minutes and trying not to think. He doesn’t know what to do anymore; he’s been having these nightmares for the past five or six days, and it’s starting to be more than he can handle. If it’s not a nightmare where he fades away into oblivion, then it’s a nightmare where Tony and Pepper don’t want him and kick him out. The lack of sleep is wearing at him, but so are the nightmares themselves.

He opens his eyes and leans back, wiping at the sweat on his forehead. In another, Pepper and Tony would’ve been right there with him. They would’ve helped him up off the floor and gotten him all cleaned up. Then Pepper would’ve made a bottle of warm milk and given Peter a kiss before leaving in a waft of sweet-smelling perfume, and Tony would’ve remained behind to read Peter a story. Sometimes, Tony stayed so long that he fell asleep on the bed with Peter, and then they’d wake up together the next morning.

Peter _aches_ for those moments. It’s hard to come to terms with the realization that Peter doesn’t feel comfortable going to Tony and Pepper right now. If they came to him? He would happily accept whatever they wanted to give him. But to go to them right now? It feels uncomfortably like he’s putting a burden on them. A burden that he’s not even sure they really want.

Because maybe he is intruding, and they just don’t know how to tell him that. That sickening feeling sweeps over him again and Peter has to grit his teeth. Rather than spend more time beside the toilet, he forces himself to his feet and into the shower. The warmth of the water helps to calm him down a little. He doesn’t really think Pepper and Tony hate him. That’s silly.

But he _does_ think that Tony and Pepper probably feel like they don’t have a choice. Legally, Tony is still Peter’s Caregiver. Even if they wanted to change that, Peter is certain that they feel like they can’t. They’re both good people and he knows that if they consider Peter their responsibility, they won’t shirk that. It hurts to think that’s the only reason they’ve allowed Peter to stay here, but it feels like the right answer.

So maybe the answer is to give them all some space. If Peter can figure out somewhere else to go, then it would be easier on everyone. Tony and Pepper can decide whether they want him around, and then Peter will be able to figure out whether they really want him based off their reactions. He switches the shower off, feeling calmer and more clear-headed than he has in days. He knows exactly where he’s going to go.

He dries off and creeps, naked, back into his bedroom. Or, well, ‘his’ bedroom. It’s actually a guest room, but, like all the other guest rooms, it’s on the opposite side of the house from Morgan’s room and Pepper’s and Tony’s room. Peter looks around, taking it all in. He can tell that Pepper’s the one who decorated it, and it’s very nicely done, but it’s clearly meant for a _guest_. 

He doesn’t want to be a guest. Not anymore.

So he quickly packs up the scattered bits of clothing Pepper had found for him – his things were still in storage, she told him, and they were working on having them brought to the house, but storage companies were in overdrive right now with all of the people who had reappeared. It’s just as well. Peter is able to fit everything into a backpack. He grabs the handful of cash Tony gave him and quietly departs.

Rather than take the truck, Peter hikes back to town. It takes about four hours, but he doesn’t mind the trek. The cool night air feels good against his skin and makes him feel like he’s leaving a lot of bad decisions behind. It’s not a huge town by any means, but it’s big enough for there to be a bus depot. Peter hops on the 4:30am bus heading for New York city.

He doesn’t let himself sleep, too afraid that he’ll wet himself, but stays awake for the whole ten-hour ride. Needless to say, he’s exhausted by the time the bus finally makes it to the last stop – but seeing New York again leaves him wide awake. Something in Peter’s stomach twists as he takes in the city, at once so similar but also so different. Five years. _Five years_.

“Everyone off. New York, last stop!” the bus driver announces, and Peter gets up to file off the bus. Part of him kind of expects to see Tony standing there waiting for him, but of course no one is. They might not have even realized he’s gone. They might not even care. He’s not sure which one is worse.

He doesn’t have a cell phone yet, and it’s a little weird to see the phones that everyone’s walking around holding. They look so sleek and delicate that he doesn’t even dare to ask someone to borrow one, and payphones seem to be a thing of the past now – all of which means he can’t call his aunt to let her know he’s coming in advance, but Peter decides that doesn’t matter. Aunt May told him he was always welcome to visit her.

So he makes his way uptown, following the signs of the streets, until he finds Aunt May’s building. It’s not the same one as they used to live in, which makes Peter feel weird. To him, Aunt May moved apartments overnight. But to her, she lived in the same place for over a year before it became too painful. That’s what she told Peter anyway, and he has no reason to doubt her. It’s just weird, that’s all. He kind of misses his old room, creepy water stain on the ceiling and all.

The doorman gives him a suspicious look when Peter edges past him, but thankfully he doesn’t stop Peter. Aunt May lives on the twelfth floor; Peter takes the elevator up, silently impressed by how nice the building is. He finds himself wondering if maybe Aunt May got a promotion while he was gone. Or maybe it’s just the fact that she was no longer caring for a teenager, so she has more money to go around? 

And then he finds out it’s neither of those two things.

“Peter!” Happy Hogan exclaims, looking very surprised and caught off-guard. “You’re not the Chinese food guy.”

“Uh, no?” Peter says blankly, staring at Happy in puzzlement. It’s after midnight. He’s not really sure why Happy is at his aunt’s apartment. 

“Happy? What’s going on – Peter?” Aunt May freezes a few feet away from the door. Her eyes are wide. Peter stares at her in shock. 

When she came to see him before, she was wearing a loosely fitting sweatshirt. She had hugged him several times, but Peter was overwhelmed. The world had been _so much_ and he was just trying to adjust to everything and – and apparently, he wasn’t paying attention. Because now that Aunt May is wearing a tighter fitting shirt, he can see what is unmistakably a small baby bump.

“Peter,” Aunt May says again, wrapping her arms over the bump. To hide it? But all that does is draw attention to it, and suddenly it’s all Peter can look at.

“You’re pregnant,” he says weakly, the word tasting odd on his tongue. It’s not a thought he ever believed he’d have to apply to his aunt. 

“I… yes.” Aunt May looks over at Happy, then sighs. “Peter, I was going to tell you. I just didn’t want to dump too much on you too fast.”

“Of course,” Peter says automatically, still struggling to absorb this. Somehow, it’s just really hard to think of Aunt May with a baby. 

“What are you doing here?” Happy asks him, ushering Peter into the apartment. He closes the door with an air of familiarity, and suddenly it clicks. Peter looks between Happy and his aunt with deepening bewilderment. There’s a gold ring on Aunt May’s finger, and what appears to be a matching ring on Happy’s finger, plus surely two plus two can’t equal –

“Are you okay?” Aunt May asks, looking worried, and steps closer to Happy. Seemingly on autopilot, Happy puts an arm around her shoulders.

“I’m fine,” Peter says faintly. It’s possibly the biggest lie he’s ever told in his life. Aunt May is pregnant and married to Happy. Aunt May is _pregnant_ and _married_ to _Happy_. He doesn’t even know what to do with that information – somehow it feels like the biggest change yet – but he kind of wants to run away with his hands over his ears and pretend that it’s not happening.

Aunt May doesn’t look convinced. “If you’re fine, then what are you doing here?” she asks gently.

“You said I was welcome here anytime,” Peter says, suddenly realizing that maybe she didn’t mean that.

But Aunt May assuages that fear immediately, moving forward and taking his hands. “Oh Peter, of course you’re welcome here. I’m just surprised to see you. Is Tony with you?”

“No. He and Pepper had some things to do,” Peter tells her, which isn’t technically a lie. Right? 

Both Happy and Aunt May frown and look at each other. They do that annoying grown-up thing where they have a conversation through facial expressions alone. Peter can’t help frowning. His gut clenches anxiously as he wonders if they’re going to tell him he can’t stay here. He’s not sure where he’ll go if they don’t want him. To Ned or MJ, maybe? But their families probably won’t want him either…

“Well, you look hungry,” Aunt May says at last, turning back to Peter. “We just finished eating dinner, but there are plenty of leftovers.”

Peter pauses. “That you cooked?”

Happy laughs. “No, we ordered out.”

“I’m not that bad,” Aunt May complains, but there’s a smile tugging at her lips. 

“So you’ve improved in the past five years?” Peter asks before he can stop himself. He has a split second to think that he probably shouldn’t have said that, because jokes about the Decimation don’t usually go over well. Aunt May and Happy both look at him in surprise, and there’s a tense couple of seconds where it seems like no one really knows how to react, before Aunt May recovers.

“I’ll have you know I now make a very mean grilled cheese,” she declares.

Unconvinced, Peter’s eyes flick towards Happy. Happy subtly shakes his head.

“I saw that,” Aunt May says, rolling her eyes. “Come on. You can put your backpack beside the couch. I’m afraid we don’t have a guest room, but the couch folds out into a bed.”

“That’s great,” Peter says, stomach twisting at the reminder that his bedroom no longer exists. His things from the tower are in storage, Pepper said. He wonders what happened to his things that were at Aunt May’s. Did she store them? Did she throw them out? He’s not brave enough to ask.

Happy takes his backpack and puts it at the end of the couch as Aunt May hustles Peter into the kitchen. It’s a considerably nicer kitchen than the one they shared before. But of course, with two incomes, he supposes that money is a lot easier. Two incomes and no teenager… but soon, another mouth to feed. He gives Aunt May another long look when her back is turned, taking in the profile of the baby bump. Somehow, he has the feeling that Aunt May and Happy aren’t going to want him around long-term either. 

So what the hell is he going to do?


	3. Chapter 3

It’s early in the morning again when Peter wakes up. There’s a crick in his neck and he has a headache from lack of sleep, and he can tell without needing to move that he’s wet his diaper. All of those things should make him want to get up, but really, he just wants to close his eyes and fall back asleep until the world somehow resolves itself around him. Being an adult is too hard sometimes.

But he can’t fall into his headspace right now, so he pushes himself up and heads for the bathroom. Aunt May’s and Happy’s apartment is bigger than he expected. The living room is a decent size and so is the kitchen. He hasn’t seen their bedroom, of course, but he assumes it’s a nice size too based off the rest of the apartment. It’s obvious that Aunt May is doing well for herself.

He tries to shake the thought that _of course_ she is, because now she no longer has Peter to worry about. But it’s hard. It just feels like, as soon as Peter was out of the picture, Aunt May was able to move on. She got married and moved into a much nicer place and now she’s pregnant. She’s having the life she always should have had without Peter around. And that’s hard to swallow.

Is there _no one_ who wants him now?

He does his business in the bathroom, cleaning himself up, and slips out. In the quiet of the apartment, he hears the murmur of low voices and pauses. Aunt May loves to sleep in. He can’t imagine why she would be awake this early… unless something is wrong. Or at least, that’s what he tells himself as he creeps closer to the door from which behind he can hear the voices.

“ – don’t stress out. It’s bad for the baby,” Happy is saying.

“I can’t help it. That idiot was supposed to take care of my nephew and now this!” Aunt May replies, her voice high with frustration.

“Hey now. Tony’s not an idiot. This is just an adjustment for everyone,” says Happy. 

“It shouldn’t have to be! It shouldn’t be this hard!” says Aunt May, and Peter flinches a bit. Does she really feel like it’s so hard to have him around?

“Oh May, don’t cry.” Happy’s voice goes softer, and Peter has to press his ear harder against the door to hear Happy add, “Peter was gone for five years. We all moved on. So of course there’s going to be an adjustment period for _all_ of us. You can’t blame Tony and Pepper for that.”

“Yes, I can,” Aunt May says, but she doesn’t sound like she means it. 

“No, you can’t. Tony was freaking out yesterday. That’s why he called us to let us know Peter might be on his way; that’s why I called him as soon as Peter got here. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have done that,” says Happy. “And it’s good that Peter came here. We know he’s safe.”

Peter closes his eyes at that, conflicted. So Tony and Pepper know where he is, and Tony was worried enough to call Aunt May and Happy? Or did he just feel obligated to call them? The uncertainty of not knowing makes Peter’s stomach hurt.

“I don’t know about good. I didn’t want him to know about the baby this quickly,” Aunt May says.

“I know, but he was going to find out sooner or later.” 

There’s a pause, and then some wet, smoochy noises that make Peter’s nose crinkle up because eww, kissing. He backs away from the door and is about to return to the living room when another door catches his eye. Peter pauses, staring at the door with a frown. Aunt May said they didn’t have a guest room, which is why Peter slept on the couch. So what - ?

He shouldn’t, but he does anyway.

It’s a nursery.

Peter doesn’t know why he wasn’t expecting that.

He takes in the sight of the room, feeling numb. The walls are painted a pretty shade of yellow and the furniture – a crib, a changing table, a rocking chair, and a small wardrobe – are all white. Someone, possibly Aunt May, has hand-painted purple flowers on the furniture. The purple flowers match the color of the quilt in the crib and the cushion on the rocking chair. As a whole, it looks comfortable and cozy.

And it’s all perfectly sized for a baby. Not a Little. A _baby_. Because of it is. Now that Aunt May is pregnant, they need somewhere to put their baby. That’s what they have enough room for. Not Peter. A baby.

Peter swallows. His throat aches. This is the sort of room that Aunt May wouldn’t have been able to afford to give him back before everything happened – but more than that, this is just another reminder that there’s no room for him anymore. He’s been replaced in every possible way, hasn’t he? First by Morgan and now by a new baby. It’s just like Happy said. It’s been five years. Everyone has moved on.

A small part of him wants to tear the nursery apart. But he doesn’t. That wouldn’t be fair. This isn’t anyone’s fault except for Thanos, and apparently, he’s long dead. So instead, Peter turns on his heel and quickly walks back out to the living room. He grabs his bag from where it’s sitting at the end of the couch and slings it over his shoulder, then walks out the door.

New York in the early morning looks an awful lot like New York at night: a little strange, a little familiar, a lot overwhelming. Peter walks aimlessly down the sidewalk, watching all the people as they pass him. Everyone looks tired and stressed, and he wonders how many of them are facing the same situation that he is. A return to a world that’s moved on and no longer has room for them.

There are emergency shelters set up, he remembers, for people who don’t have anywhere to go. And the government and other agencies have been setting up numbers that people can call for those who don’t have any money. It’s a giant legal process trying to untangle frozen bank accounts and inheritances and real estate matters, and he knows it’s not going to resolve itself anytime soon. 

Should he go to an emergency shelter? Would they even let him stay? He does technically have family, and it makes him feel weird to think of taking those resources away from someone else who might need them. So maybe he shouldn’t go there, at least not right away. He has all day to figure out if he’d rather go back to Tony and Pepper, try to stay with Aunt May and Happy, or come up with some other option.

In the meantime, Peter finds himself wandering in the direction of his old high school. That’s another thing that people are still spinning in circles about. Technically Peter never graduated, yet he’s missed out on five years of the curriculum. Some things will have changed. Some of his classmates have graduated and are halfway through their university or college degrees. It’s hard not to feel jealous of them, or bitter that they got to move on when Peter and so many others are stuck in place…

In the end, he enters a conveniently placed alley, pulls on his spider suit, and takes the easy way to the high school. It still looks the same, at least, even if none of the kids do. Spider-Man squats on a nearby roof and just… watches for a while. All of the kids are living their best life, untouched by what happened. He envies them. He misses being a kid who doesn’t have to think about anything.

He’s probably been there for about two hours when he sees something. Or rather, _someone_. It’s Ned. Spider-Man blinks for a few moments, half-expecting the image of his best friend to fade away like a mirage, but that doesn’t happen. Ned got hit by the Decimation too, so he looks exactly the same as Peter remembers. There’s something compelling about that. Before Peter knows it, he’s scrambling down into an alley and changing.

“Ned!” he calls out, emerging. He’s expecting Ned to be surprised, but all he gets is a look of intense relief as Ned hurries over to him.

“Dude, there you are! Your aunt called me freaking out,” he says.

“She did?” Peters says, startled. 

“Yeah. You okay?” Ned looks him up and down like Peter might suddenly start bleeding out on the spot.

“Of course he’s okay. I told you he was.”

Peter spins around. “MJ?!”

And there she is, wearing an unimpressed look straight out of Peter’s fondest memories. MJ puts a hand on her cocked hip and says, “What’s the big idea, giving your aunt a heart attack?”

“I, uh,” Peter says dumbly. He’s not prepared for MJ to look just the way she used to. He didn’t even think to check and see if she was hit by the Decimation too, but unless she’s stumbled across a fountain of youth in the past five years, the answer is obviously yes.

MJ sighs at him. “You, uh, what?”

“Hey, why don’t we go get a coffee?” says Ned, clearly taking pity on Peter. 

“Do you think that Nellie’s is still open?” MJ asks, momentarily distracted.

“I hope so,” Peter says, thinking fondly of the café that they’ve frequented so often. It’s a little further away from MIT, but that just means they got to avoid most of the other students.

“So what’s going on with you?” MJ asks as they start walking.

Peter pinches his lips, wondering how much to share. Both Ned and MJ know that he’s a Little, mostly because it was hard to explain why he was moving in with Tony and Pepper otherwise. But they don’t know that he’s Spider-Man. They probably think Peter was just Decimated like everyone else. So the story has an extra level of complication he can’t really express. That said…

“Everything’s different since we came back. I miss how things used to be,” Peter says quietly, because it’s the truth and because he knows Ned and MJ will both understand.

Sure enough, Ned nods. “Me too. My mom was Decimated too, but my dad wasn’t. He’s re-married.” His expression speaks volumes about the issues this has caused, and Peter winces. It’s not a story that’s unique to the Leeds, but Peter knows it can’t be easy.

“It was just me, so my parents are still together. Unfortunately, they’re not really equipped to deal with a teenager now,” MJ says with forced lightness.

“That’s exactly my problem,” Peter tells her, deeply relieved that there’s someone else who is having the same issue. He tells Ned and MJ more about Tony, Pepper, Morgan, Aunt May, Happy, and the new baby as they enter the café, get their drinks, and take their seats. It feels really good to be able to speak to an unbiased third party about this. 

Ned’s frowning by the time he’s done. “That sounds really hard, Dude. At least I still have my mom.”

“I just don’t know what to do. It seems like no one has room for me anymore,” Peter says, sighing. “I feel like I’m infringing no matter who I end up with.”

“Did Mr. Stark or Ms. Potts actually say anything about you not being welcome?” MJ asks him, frowning.

“Well… no. But they’re both so polite, and they used to care about me. I mean, they still do. I just don’t know if they want to… you know, be my Caregivers. It’s a huge responsibility and they’ve got a kid now. So…” Peter trails off, picking at a small fleck of dirt on the table. 

“Did you ask them?” she asks frankly.

“No,” Peter mumbles.

“Don’t you think you should?” Her eyes are practically boring a hole in the side of Peter’s head. Uncomfortable, he glances at Ned for help.

“That’s a hard conversation,” Ned offers awkwardly.

“Obviously, but Peter hasn’t got very far trying to divine what people think,” says MJ. She kicks lightly at Peter until he looks up at her, whereupon she stares him down. “I mean. You need to talk to Mr. Stark.”


	4. Chapter 4

“I want her out of here.” Tony’s hands are curled into his lap so tightly that his nails are cutting into his palms, but it’s seriously taking all of his self-restraint _not_ to lash out at Maximoff right now. Even after everything, she’s still sitting there with a smarmy little smirk on her face. Every time she catches Tony’s eye, the aura of gloating she exudes is sickening.

“Where do you expect me to go? I’m an Avenger. I have the right to be,” Maximoff says. “Right, Natasha?”

“No,” Natasha says, so firmly that Tony looks over at her surprise. There’s a surprising amount of rage in Natasha’s usually composed face. 

“Clint?” Maximoff turns to the last Avengers in the room, but even Clint isn’t looking at her with anything resembling friendliness right now.

“I can’t believe you,” Clint says, somewhere between anger and disappointment. “What were you thinking?”

“It’s not my fault! I didn’t know what I was doing!” Maximoff says defensively. Right on cue, big tears start to well up in her eyes and she sniffs dramatically. Tony has to stop himself from rolling his eyes, if only because he already has a bad headache and that won’t help.

“If you didn’t know what you were doing, then it’s a damn good thing I’ve sealed your powers,” says Strange, and Maximoff’s tears vanish as surely as though someone flipped a switch.

“Get her out of here,” Tony says to Strange. “I don’t give a fuck where you take her. Just – somewhere that is not my property and where she can’t hurt anyone else.” His throat is tight. He kind of wants to grab Maximoff by the neck and scream in her face until she understands what she’s done, but he knows how useless that would be. She’s never cared who she hurt, and she’s not going to start now.

Strange inclines his head and makes a portal appear out of golden sparks. Clint hauls Maximoff to her feet and marches her through the portal, leaving Strange to follow. Tony’s last glimpse of them is of a dark room before the portal closes. And it should feel good, knowing that both Maximoff and her insidious influence are gone, but it doesn’t. He just feels cold and tired and so full of regrets that it hurts.

“Are you okay?” Natasha asks, not unkindly.

“No,” Tony says, deciding to be honest for once in his life. “I’m not okay, Natasha. Every damn time I think I can finally be happy, something happens to derail it. I had him!” He gets up, gesturing violently with his hands. “For the last five years, all I’ve wanted is Peter back. And then once he was here, I basically ignored him! I didn’t take care of him! I let him leave and all I cared to do was call his aunt to give her a heads up!” He’s so wound up his hands are shaking, he realizes. 

It’s a mixture of fear and adrenaline and the remnants of the spells that Strange had to cast to remove Maximoff’s influence, Tony knows. But that doesn’t make him feel any better. He keeps thinking about Peter, poor Peter, and what the kid must be going through. It’s no wonder Peter left. Tony’s actions are by far the worst, but even Pepper and Morgan have treated Peter callously over the past several days.

And it’s all because of that _bitch_. Her mocking voice still rings out in Tony’s mind: 

_”You have everything, Stark, while I have nothing. So I wanted to make sure that your perfect life wasn’t so damn perfect after all.”_

“Hey,” Natasha says, putting her hands on Tony’s shoulders and forcing him to face her. “This wasn’t your fault.”

“I should have noticed earlier. I should have realized,” Tony says, hot with guilt and shame, but Natasha shakes her head.

“You know that Strange said that was part of her spell. She made you care less and amplified all of Peter’s fears, and she gave you both terrible nightmares to compound it all. That’s _not_ your fault. If anything, Clint and I should be the ones apologizing. I had no idea that’s why Wanda wanted to come here. I never would’ve brought her if I’d known.” In a rare show of emotion, Natasha looks as guilty as Tony feels.

“I didn’t know she was still so angry at me,” Tony mumbles, though he really should have guessed. Without Vision, and still without her brother, it’s no wonder Maximoff’s thirst for revenge started growing anew. Still, he wouldn’t have thought she would stoop _this_ low. 

“I didn’t either. None of us did.” Natasha squeezes his shoulders. “But you’re aware now, so you can start figuring things out. I’m sure Peter will understand.”

Tony’s not so sure about that. Peter is, after all, just a kid, and Maximoff was using her magic on him too. After everything, being mentally manipulated by a psychotic bitch is the last thing that Peter needed. He’s just thankful that Peter’s safe in New York, and that Peter didn’t take off into the unknown. As far as Littles go Peter is extremely capable, but he’s still a baby at heart.

“And now her influence on Peter is gone too, so you two will actually be able to talk to each other,” Natasha adds. “You can’t give up this easily, Tony. You have to fight for Peter!” She sounds so passionate that Tony just blinks at her for a moment.

“I’m not giving up. Peter’s my kid. I’ll do whatever it takes to apologize and make it up to him,” says Tony. “I know that Pepper will feel the same way, once she’s done wanting to throttle Maximoff with her bare hands.”

“Good,” Natasha says, finally letting go of Tony’s shoulders. “You have a really good kid. You’re lucky.”

“I know,” Tony says slowly, tilting his head. This is unusual, coming from Natasha. If he didn’t know better, he’d say… “Wait. Are you thinking about getting a Little of your own?”

“… No,” Natasha says, so meekly that Tony immediately knows she’s lying – which is also unlike her. He narrows his eyes, momentarily distracted.

“You are,” he says, simultaneously surprised and yet not. He’s always known that Natasha was a Caregiver, and that she’s never had a Little of her own. She always said that having a Little didn’t interest her, but he also knows that Natasha has changed a lot over the past couple of years. They all have. 

Natasha folds her arms over her chest. “Maybe. It would have to be the right Little. Someone who understands our lives. Where would I find someone like that?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure you could if you tried,” Tony says. He understands what she means, but he also thinks that Natasha’s underestimating herself.

“And even if I did, I don’t know if I’d be any good at it. I’m not exactly the poster child for mental stability,” she adds.

“Uh, hello?” Tony says, pointing at himself. In a contest between him and Natasha, it’s honestly hard to tell who would win. Still, he remembers having these exact same fears when he first started out taking care of Peter. Hell, he has them to this day – and for good reason, considering that his Little is currently in New York thinking that Tony doesn’t want him anymore.

She gives him a small smile. “You know what I mean. Anyway, we’re not supposed to be talking about me. This is about you and Peter. You need to get going.”

“You’re right, I do. But Natasha, when you get the chance, you should take it,” Tony tells her, meaning it. He’s always thought that any Little would be lucky to have Natasha, but he’s never so much as mentioned it because she didn’t seem interested. 

“I’ll think about it,” she says. “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Tony says, knowing he’ll need it. He heads out of the kitchen and back towards the bedrooms. In doing so, he passes by the room they put Peter in. It makes him feel sick to think they stuck the poor kid so far away. And it never even occurred to him that was weird! 

He _hates_ Maximoff. Hates her with a burning passion. He never would’ve realized anything was wrong had Strange not come here for a meeting on a totally different topic. Strange hadn’t taken more than three steps into the house before he immediately discerned that Maximoff was actively using her magic on everyone in the general area, plus some people that weren’t.

Her powers are sealed now, and Tony believes Strange when he says that Maximoff can’t unseal her powers without Strange’s say-so. But that’s cold comfort in the wake of what she’s done. Tony’s spent the past five years dreaming of the moment when he might get Peter back, and now he has no idea if the damage Maximoff’s done is reparable or not. It hurts to think that it might not be, and he has only himself to blame…

Pepper looks up as Tony pushes open their door. Morgan is sleeping, which is a good thing – she kind of liked Maximoff, much to Tony’s disgust, so she probably would have been sad to see Maximoff go. Pepper’s eyes are red rimmed like she’s been crying, and that just adds to the weight of responsibility on Tony’s shoulders. He’s the reason Maximoff is even in their lives.

“Is she gone?” Pepper asks, keeping her voice quiet for Morgan’s sake, and Tony nods.

“Strange and Clint took her away. I don’t know where. Maybe they’ll drop her with Rogers,” Tony says, suddenly exhausted. “Frankly, I don’t care where she ends up as long as we never have to see her again.”

“I just keep thinking about how callous we were.” Pepper closes her eyes as fresh tears spill down her face. Tony hurries to give her a hug, but he knows that it doesn’t help much.

“I’m going to go get him, Pep. I’m gonna bring our baby back,” he promises.

“Do you think I should come too?” Pepper asks, genuinely uncertain, and the question gives Tony pause. His instinct is to say yes, but he’s not sure that’s the right one. They could easily leave Morgan with Natasha for a couple of days, but it goes beyond that: as much as Peter adores Pepper, his deepest bond has always been with Tony. So maybe it’s best if Tony talks to him first?

But even beyond that, Tony feels like this is his fuck-up. He doesn’t want Pepper taking the brunt of Peter’s anger – or _any_ of Peter’s anger. She doesn’t deserve it and neither does Morgan.

“I should probably go alone,” Tony says finally. 

“I think so too,” Pepper says quietly. “Just… make sure you tell our boy how much we love him. There’s always a place for him here. While you’re gone, I’ll gets his things out of storage and make up a new room for him.”

“Good idea,” Tony says, relaxing a little. He can’t believe they didn’t do that the instant Peter came back to the house, but of course Maximoff’s powers had made both Tony and Pepper gloss right over that idea. He thinks it’ll help when – if – Peter comes back to the house.

Pepper stands up and gives him a kiss. “Bring our baby home, Tony.”

“I will,” Tony tells her. He stoops to give Morgan a kiss on the forehead and then heads downstairs. He could take a car to New York but flying by way of Iron Man suit will be a heck of a lot faster, especially since he’s travelling alone. When he and Peter return, they can either rent a car or take a private helicopter. Whatever Peter wants… if only he’ll agree to come home.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](https://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


End file.
